Graymont's plan calls for the use of nearly 8 ,000 acres for an underground limestone mine. T he re mainder of the land will be used for surface mining and a processing plant.

The Canadian company anticipates that it will take between 50 and 100 years to mine the land.

A s part of the deal , G raymont would pay the DNR a royalty fee on each ton of limestone that is removed from the land over a 100 year span.

T hey will also have to pay thousands of dollars annually in property taxes that will be funneled into the county and township governments. B ut before anything moves forward , the DNR must approve the project.

"T his is the public 's land and we manage the plan for the public ," Kerry Wieber, DNR Forest Land Administrator said. "S o we need to hear from the public about what they want to have happen here and that's a critical part of this ."

A s the project develops , G raymont may create more than 40 jobs for local workers.

T he DNR will spend the next six weeks reviewing Graymont's proposal and will be accepting public feedback during that time to include in their report.